preview Four little boys left to maintain a Buddhist monasteryThe four little
ko yin (junior monks) look rather pathetic as they huddle together watching their abbot or
sayadaw (U Zaw Ti Ka) make his shaky way down the wild mountain path from the monastery in Northeast Burma (Myanmar). He has been called to the capital. He doesn't know when he'll come back. Not soon; maybe never. The boys are orphans, and now they are being returned to the state from which they came, alone again, in a country of war and dictatorship, Up here in the forest and mountains they're far away from everything, fortunately - or are they? They lack the resources to feed themselves. They have relied on one essential daily visitor bringing them a gift of food. Can four little boys maintain a Buddhist monastery? They seem to know how to do only two things: pray and play. But what is ritual if not a stay against confusion? And what is play if not a way to keep up the spirits?
Golden Kingdom, 104 mins., in Burmese, debuted at Berlin 9 Feb 2015 in the festival's youth-oriented Generation strand, and was nominated for Best First Feature; showed at about a dozen other international festivals including Teheran, Prague, Seoul, Vancouver, Bangkok and Mill Valley (its US premiere 13 Oct. 2015).
Full review will appear prior to a US release 17 June 2016.
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